The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance presents Pretty is as Pretty Does (bk 1)
Bless Her Heart (bk 2)
Tickled Pink (bk 3) (Bethany House March 1, 2007) by Debby Mayne

Debby Mayne is a best-selling author who has published more than 25 books and novellas, 400 short stories and articles, and devotions for women. She has also worked as managing editor of a national health magazine, product information writer for HSN, a creative writing instructor, and a copy editor and proofreader. Her novel, Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida received 4-1/2 stars from RT Book Review, and was named a Top Pick for the month of July. She and her husband Wally have two grown daughters, and live in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Debby can be reached through the Contact link on her Website.

 Pretty Is As Pretty Does
Priscilla Slater goes to her ten-year high school reunion with equal parts dread and eager anticipation. Even though she’s a successful owner of a chain of hair salons and no longer has the mousy brown hair, crooked teeth, and discount-store wardrobe, she still feels like the ugly duckling. But when she arrives at the reunion, Priscilla soon realizes that her old classmates aren’t exactly as she remembers them. With humor and a just a touch of sassiness, Priscilla finds herself facing her own truth—and she may be surprised at what she discovers. 

Bless Her Heart
As Priscilla Slater’s 15-year class reunion approaches, she decides to attend out of curiosity… and to flaunt her latest achievement—taking her business to a national level with the possibility of a TV show. As if getting ready for the event and putting up with the pranks of her former classmates isn’t enough, Priscilla’s hometown visit is further complicated by her parents’ separation. With the once-solid sanctuary of her home broken at the foundation, there’s only one thing Priscilla’s parents can agree on: no matter what sort of accolades their daughter receives as a hair stylist, she’s not living up to her potential. Eager to escape the painful reality of her childhood home, Priscilla bolts as soon as a call from New York brings good news: her offer to purchase one of the best salons in the country is likely to come through. But returning to New York means returning to Tim, Priscilla’s best friend and business pal who has been impatiently suggesting their relationship should be more than a friendship. 

Tickled Pink
Despite her recent achievements, will Priscilla learn that success doesn’t always result in popularity—or love?
Priscilla Slater shows up at her 20-year reunion as a national celebrity. Her hair salon dynasty has skyrocketed, and to top it off, she has her own line of hair products. She has become a huge success with the “Ms. Prissy Big Hair” line that lets women with the thinnest of locks get the coveted “big hair” look so popular in the South. Her classmates have finally come to terms with adulthood, but they’re handling it with the grace of a Southern woman wearing white after Labor Day. It’s just downright awkward! Asserting the maturity that her classmates have often lacked, Priscilla holds her head high. But she can’t ignore everything. When she catches her mother in the arms of her former high school principal, Priscilla can’t get out of town fast enough. Eager to get back to her more comfortable life, Priscilla runs head on into an ultimatum: Tim tells her they’re not getting any younger—as if she has to be reminded. 

If you would like to read an excerpt from Pretty is as Pretty Does (bk 1), goHERE 


JOIN THE PARTY! Now that all three books have released, let’s party! (Yes, really!) Join our online class reunion the week of October 7, 2013 on Debby Mayne’s Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/events/136447929891169/ Stop by to answer questions about the books, respond to fun polls, join in fun activities to help you reminisce your high school days, and win great prizes. Tell your friends and meet us there!

My Thoughts:
Thank you Abingdon Press for sending all three books to review!  This is the best series I've read in a while.  Debby Mayne has captured the small Southern town culture perfectly.  I was excited to begin reading the first book in the series to discover Mayne's story takes place in and around an area not far from where I grew up in Mississippi!  How much fun was that to read!  Maynes's characterization is on point.  I loved getting the story from the voice of each of the main characters.  Each chapter comes from a different perspective and gives the story fluidity.  I love when a story is well written, but is fun and this series is just plain fun to read.  Maynes will have you laughing and crying, but most importantly, she writes a story that has you turning the pages until the very end.  It was a joy to read this series!

Happy Reading,
Jennifer

Home To Heather Creek Giveaway

When the world around you falls apart, could it be that God is giving you a second chance? This is just one of the questions on Charlotte Stevenson's mind as she brings her three grandchildren to live on the family farm in Guidepost Books' Home to Heather Creek series.

Before the Dawn begins just one week after the funeral of Charlotte's daughter, Denise. Denise's three children barely have time to process the death of their mother before they must move to the Heather Creek Farm they have never visited with grandparents they barely know. At age 16, Sam is fiercely protective of his younger siblings. Emily is 14 and desperately misses her friends. Young Christopher is only 8 and just wants to fit in. While Charlotte tries to help her grandchildren adjust to their new life, she also wrestles with her own grief and the enormous task of bringing her family together. Bob believes the fastest path to adjustment is a firm routine, with structure and chores, the same way they raised their own kids. However, that route led to Denise running away from home as a teenager and an estranged relationship with her family. Charlotte is worried about making the same mistakes she made with Denise. Is this her chance to make things right?
It is spring when the children arrive, and as Charlotte looks around the farm, she hopes the new life around them will signify hope and healing. The miracle of new life, along with God's healing touch, reminds all of them that it's always darkest just before the dawn.

Sweet September picks up at harvest time, as the children are settling into a new school year. While the harvest should be an exciting time, the children don't seem to be getting into the spirit. Emily is struggling with farm life, Christopher spends most of his time alone, and Sam is failing school. Trying to learn from what did and didn't work with her own kids, Charlotte is determined to get her grandchildren back on track.
As tenuous family bonds threaten to break apart, a mystery on the farm might be the one thing that can bond the family together. Charlotte sets out to uncover the truth, and as the kids unite to find answers, this cobbled-together family learns more about one another and the love that binds them together.
The lives of the Stevensons and their grandchildren unfold in this captivating story of the remarkable change that comes from the love of family, the kindness of others, sheer persistence and unshakable faith. As readers follow the Stevensons' inspiring stories, it's almost impossible not feel a part of this friendly, loving community, where God's grace can be seen in every circumstance.

About the Author: Kathleen Bauer is the pen name for a team of writers who have come together to create the Home to Heather Creek series.

My Thoughts:
The Home to Heather Creek series tells the story of family angst and dysfunction.  An estranged daughter dies and leaves her three children to be raised by their grandparents.  These children, who have just lost their mother, have to adjust from living in a busy city to living on a farm in Nebraska where cell phone signal and internet connection is come and go.  The writers of this series capture the emotion of both the grandparents and the children so well.  The reader also gets to hear and "see" the story from the perspectives of all the characters which adds a particular depth to an already emotionally driven story.
I found myself aching for Charlotte, the grandmother.  This woman exhibits a strength like no other and the writers capture her so well.  The characterization is this series is excellent and right on point with what could very well be a true story.  The transition this family experiences truly is one of beauty from ashes.  You will be inspired by taking the time to read!

Don't miss the amazing giveaway!

Enter Today - 9/16 - 10/5!


Happy Reading,
Jennifer

One With Christ: An Evangelical Theology of Salvation

Marcus Peter Johnson (PhD, University of Toronto) is assistant professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute. Along with writing his doctoral dissertation on union with Christ in the theology of John Calvin, he is also the author of several scholarly essays. He and his wife, Stacie, live in Chicago with their son, Peter, and are members of Grace Lutheran Church.

Synopsis:
Despite our love for the Bible, emphasis on the cross, and passion for evangelism, many evangelicals ironically neglect that which is central to the gospel.  In our preaching, teaching, and witnessing, we often separate salvation from the Savior.
Looking to the Scriptures and to church history, Marcus Johnson reveals the true riches of our salvation by reintroducing us to the foundation of our redemption - our mysterious union with the living Christ.
The book consists of and introduction and 8 chapters:
1.  The Nature of Union with Christ
2.  Sin and the Incarnation
3.  Justification in Christ
4.  Sanctification in Christ
5.  Adoption and Sonship in Christ
6.  Preservation and Glorification in Christ
7.  The Mystery of the Church in Christ
8.  The Word and Sacraments of Christ

"This book is concerned with repairing an ever-widening fissure in evangelical theology...We are content, more often than not, to refer to the 'atoning work of Christ' or the 'work of Christ on the cross' as the basis for our salvation.  Yet, as important as such expressions are for a robust evangelical soteriology (the study of salvation), we are in dire need of the reminder that Christ's saving work is of no benefit to us unless we are joined to the living Savior whose work it is."  (from the introduction, pg.15)

Drawing from what Johnson calls his "shocking encounter" with the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer John Calvin, he offers his readers a theologically robust and scholarly look at our union with Christ.  Johnson looks closely at church tradition, but even closer at Scripture to help his readers understand this union upon which our very salvation is dependent.  One With Christ reads somewhat like a textbook and requires a careful and slow reading.  Johnson utilizes strategically placed and in depth foot notes to engage the reader in his understanding of the text.

Johnson is thorough in his explanations.  He doesn't just throw an idea before his reader without the careful exposition of Scripture for clarification on his point.  He quotes often from Calvin himself as Calvin's theology greatly influenced Johnson's understanding of union with Christ, but  presents the thoughts of others as well.  There is much to gain from a careful study of this offering from Johnson. 

You can read an excerpt from the book by going HERE.

*I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Crossway) for the purpose of this review.

Blessings,
Jennifer

Raw Edge

The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance introduces Raw Edge Abingdon Press (September 17, 2013) by Sandra D. Bricker

For more than a decade, Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While honing her chosen craft of screenwriting in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver. 
The Big 5-OH! was released by Abingdon Press in the Spring of 2010, and the novel was very well-received, garnering a couple of nibbles from Hollywood. 
Always the Baker, Never the Bride was released by Abingdon Press in September 2010. With its phenomenal reviews, the novel spawned a series of three more books based on the popular cast of characters at The Tanglewood Inn, a wedding destination hotel in historic Roswell, Georgia. The series cemented Sandie's spot in publishing as a flagship author of Laugh-Out-Loud romantic comedy for the inspirational market.
"Being allowed to combine my faith and my humor with my writing dream," says Bricker, "well, that's the best of all worlds, as far as I'm concerned!"  Sandra can be reached through the Contact link on her Website.

Grayson McDonough has no use for teal ribbons, 5k runs, or ovarian cancer support groups now that his beautiful wife Jenna is gone. But their nine-year-old daughter Sadie seems to need the connection. When Annabelle Curtis, the beautiful cancer survivor organizing the memory quilt project for the Ovacome support group, begins to bring out the silly and fun side of his precious daughter again, Gray must set aside his own grief to support the healing of Sadie’s young heart. But is there hope for Gray’s heart too along the way? 

If you would like to read the first chapter of Raw Edge, go HERE. 
My Thoughts: This book was perfect in every way! I've read all of the Quilts of Love books in the series so far and Raw Edges is by far my very favorite!  Bricker writes with the perfect blend of emotion, humor, heartache and love.  Her characterization is superb...you can't help but fall in love with Sadie.  Not only does she have an effect on her daddy in the story, but she effected me!  Bricker has a unique way of causing you to feel what each character is feeling at any point in her story.  My heart was involved in this one from page one!  Grab a box of tissues and read this book!  You'll cry and laugh so hard you cry and you won't be the same when you turn the last page.  A sign of an excellent novel for me is  one that I can't seem to get out of my heart and mind once I finished reading...this one will linger for quite some time.
Blessings, Jennifer 

Fired Up

Meet Mary: Mary Connealy writes fun and lively "romantic comedy with cowboys" for the inspirational market. She is the author of the successful Kincaid Brides, Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages, and Sophie's Daughters series, and she has been a finalist for a Rita and Christy Award and a two time winner of the Carol Award. She lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughters.

Connect with Mary: http://maryconnealy.com/.

Rollicking Wild West Adventure and Romance from Bestselling Author Mary Connealy
Dare Riker is a doctor who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his. It may have something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or it might be related to the recent incident with Flint Greer and the ranch. Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare can't let his guard down for a moment, which is a challenge, since right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.
Glynna Greer came west as a mail-order bride and ended up in a bad situation. Now her husband, Flint, is dead, and she's determined to care for her son and daughter on her own. She wants to believe Dare Riker is as decent as he seems, but she's terrified to lock herself into another marriage. She plans to support her small family by opening a diner---never mind that cooking is not her greatest talent. The men in Broken Wheel, Texas, are so desperate for home cooking that they seem willing to overlook dried-out beef and blackened biscuits.
Glynna can't help but notice that danger follows Dare wherever he goes. There's the avalanche. And then the fire. But things really get out of hand when someone plunges a knife from Glynna's diner into Dare's back. Are Flint's cronies still plotting revenge? Is Glynna's son engaged in a misguided attempt to protect his mother? Is a shadowy outsider still enraged over past injustices? And can Dare survive long enough to convince Glynna to take another chance on love?

You can visit HERE to see what people are saying about Fired Up.

My Thoughts:
Fired Up, the second book in Mary Connealy's Trouble In Texas series, is my first to read by her.  Mary weaves a delightful story full of lively characters.  You will love the tenacity and spunk of Glynna!  The camaraderie between Dare and his friends was a nice component to a plot full of twists and suspense.  The development of feelings between Dare and Glynna is tender and the wild west adventure will keep you turning the pages until the end.  

Don't miss Mary's evening of book chat, prizes and fun on October 8th:
Enter Today - 9/17 - 10/8!


Happy Reading,
Jennifer

Stranded

Dani Pettrey is a wife, homeschooling mom and author. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves–the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of one’s faith and plenty of romance. She’s a huge fan of dark chocolate, is always in search of the best iced mocha and her dream is to one day own a little cottage on a remote stretch of beach. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two teenage daughters.

Dani does love traveling. She’s been to some amazing places (Greece, Hawaii, the Keys) and there are many more she hopes to visit in the future.  And while she’s not quite up to sky-diving, cave diving or heli-skiing (too high, too enclosed, too cold!) she and her family love hiking, canoeing, wave jumping and a ton of other outdoor adventures a little further down on the risk scale.

One of her favorite quotes is..."Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."  William Wordsworth.

Connect with Dani on Facebook, Pinterest and Amazon.  You'll also want to visit her website which can be found HERE.

When her friend goes missing, every minute counts!

Darcy St. James returns to Alaska to join a journalist friend undercover on the trail of a big story.  But when Darcy arrives, she finds her friend has disappeared.  Troubled by the cruise ship's vague explanation.  Darcy uses her cover as a travel reporter to investigate further.

The last person Gage McKenna expects to see during his Summer aboard a cruise ship leading adventure excursions is Darcy.  And in typical Darcy fashion, she's digging up more trouble.

He'd love to just forget her - but something won't let him.  And he can't help but worry about her as they are heading into more remote regions of Alaska and eventually into foreign waters. Something sinister is going on, and the deeper they push, the more Gage fears they've only discovered the tip of the iceberg.

My Thoughts:  Stranded is the third book in Pettrey's Alaskan Courage series.  Each book in the series tells the story of a different McKenna sibling.  Pettrey's books, while not being "preachy", clearly and honestly tell of each sibling's unique struggle and growth in their faith.  Stranded tells Gage's story. His is a story full of adventure, suspense, mystery and relationships. I was encouraged by Darcy's faith in the midst of very trying circumstances and how her fear didn't overcome her faith. I have fallen in love with the McKenna family.  Pettrey does an exceptional job of continuing the McKenna's story from one book to the next without re-telling too much of the previous story.  The book could be read as a stand alone novel, but I would recommend catching up with Submerged and Shattered, the previous two books in the series, in order to experience the depth of the McKenna's story.  This series is most certainly taking its place on my keeper shelf!  

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from Bethany House for the purpose of this review. 

Christian Book Store

Happy Reading,

Jennifer

Praying the Attributes of God: A Daily Guide to Experiencing His Greatness

Ann Spangler’s sensitivity to the ever-changing spiritual and cultural climate in which we live has enabled her to address themes of profound interest to many readers. Praised for the freshness, depth, and honesty of her writing, Ann writes in ways that reveal not just her intellectual curiosity but her desire for a deeper connection with God. An award-winning writer, Ann published her first book in 1994. It became an instant best-seller. Since then she has followed up with several best-selling books, including Women of the Bible (co-authored with Jean Syswerda), Praying the Names of God, Praying the Names of Jesus and The One-Year Devotions for Women. Together, her books have sold millions of copies.
By paying attention to the spiritual and emotional hungers that animate us and by finding creative ways to explore God’s self-revelation in Scripture, her writing surprises by revealing a God who is often far bigger and better than we might imagine.
In addition to writing, Ann has enjoyed a lengthy career in Christian publishing, working for William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Servant Publications, and Zondervan Publishing in marketing, editorial, and management roles. Her broad experience in publishing has convinced her that readers are looking for well-written books that explore the connection between spiritual experience and everyday life, books that engage the mind and strengthen the heart.
You would be blessed by a visit to her website found HERE.
You can also connect with her on Facebook by going HERE.

God is bigger than you think!
Many people feel both drawn to God and afraid of Him.  How can they feel close to a perfect God Whom their flawed self is incapable of pleasing?
Fortunately, God has revealed truths about Himself in Scripture than can untangle our confusion.  In this daily guide to studying and praying according to God's attributes, Ann Spangler resurrects old-fashioned words like holiness, omniscience, and omnipresence.  Far from boring us, these words, when excavated for their biblical meaning, paint a thrilling vision of God that can help us experience Him more deeply.  They can also prevent us from making the colossal mistake of concluding God is too weak, distant, or uncaring to help us when we need Him.
Praying the Attributes of God will help you see that God is far bigger and far better than you could ever hope or suspect.

My Thoughts:
Ann Spangler and her sincere writing are such a blessing!  True to her website's by-line, "Exploring the connection between spiritual experience and everyday life", Ann writes toward that goal and is careful to point the arrow straight to knowing God better.  Praying the Attributes of God is a well-written, well-organized and deeply practical book.  The book is organized into 17 chapters covering the following attributes of God:

• Loving
• Good
• Infinite
• Unchangeable, Immutable
• All Powerful, Omnipotent
• Present Everywhere, Omnipresent
• All Knowing, Omniscient
• Patient
• Wise
• Eternal, Self-Sufficient
• Jealous
• Just, Righteous
• Merciful
• Faithful
• Holy
• Creative
• Transcendent

Each chapter is divided into five days of Scripture study, background information, devotions, Bible promises and prayer designed to help you draw nearer to the heart of God by understanding Who He is.  At the end of each week, Ann gives the reader a list of scriptures for continued and further meditation and prayer.

I can highly recommend this profound resource!  Get your copy today!  You can do so at Amazon.com by going HERE.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from Tyndale for the purpose of this review.

Blessings,
Jennifer